This invention relates generally to terminal blocks used in the telephonic and related industries. More particularly, this invention relates to a new and improved support structure or yoke for mounting modular jacks onto a terminal block and bracket assembly.
Modular jacks are used extensively in the telephone and electronics industry. The modular jack provides a uniform method of access to telephone and electronic circuitry. Recently, modular jacks have found increasing use in conjunction with telephone and related terminal blocks, including the well known type 66 terminal block. The modular jack provides easy access to the terminal block resulting in faster repairs and installations. The use of the modular jack with the terminal block or other surface requires the modular jack to be mounted to the block supporting structure.
Telephone terminal blocks are typically used in conjunction with a snap-on mounting bracket. Such an assembly is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 31,714, which is assigned to the assignee hereof and incorporated herein by reference. The bracket used in this assembly includes spaced openings for receiving unitary electrical connectors. Small threaded holes laterally displaced from each opening are used to threadibly fasten the connectors to the bracket. These unitary connectors are then hardwired to the terminals in the terminal block.
In addition to unitary connectors, the spaced openings in the bracket assembly also receive one or more modular jacks which are also hardwired to the terminals. Presently, modular jacks are connected to the bracket assembly with the use of a two piece frame that holds the jack when it is screwed to the terminal block. This frame is awkward and time consuming to use. The modular jacks must be slid into one piece of the frame and held in place on the terminal block. Next, the other piece of the frame is positioned in place and then each frame piece must be screwed down to the terminal block bracket. Since the two-piece, slide-in yoke requires support walls on each side of each jack, it was designed to acommodate four narrow jacks that are only available in 2, 4 and 6 wire versions. Although these small jacks are available in the wider housing used for the eight wire jack, they could not be used because their increased width made it impossible to mount more than 3 jacks per bracket opening with the same support means. These combined features necessitate a new and improved yoke that could accommodate up to four jacks, any style, for mounting on a single bracket opening. Such a device would alleviate the need of stocking multiple yoke components, reduce manufacturing and assembly costs and serve market demands for other connecting hardware available in the same housing shape.